The use of video recorders or cameras continues to grow in this country. Millions of people use their video cameras each day to capture personal events in their lives and sometimes, newsworthy events. Unfortunately, some video camera users have difficulties maintaining the camera stable during recording. This instability sometimes results in poor quality videos and can result in unwatchable videos. These problems may be exacerbated when the event being recorded contains action, such as a child's soccer game, or when the event is filmed under stress, such as when filming an accident.
One previous attempt to stabilize video recordings has been to stabilize the optics portion of the video camera. By providing the optics with the ability to float with respect to the remainder of the camera during movement of the camera, a more stable video recording can be captured. Unfortunately, optical solutions for stabilizing video recordings may be expensive. The hardware required to stabilize the optics may add significant costs to the camera, making the camera too expensive for large portions of the camera market.
Another prior approach to video stabilization has been to use a larger charged couple device (CCD) in the camera than is required to capture the scene being recorded. The portion of the CCD that is used to record a scene changes as required to stabilize the recording of the scene. For example, a sudden downward movement of the camera can be compensated for by changing the portion of the CCD used to capture the scene from the center portion to the top portion of the CCD. Changing the portion of the CCD used to capture a scene removes the camera movement from the recording. Unfortunately, a larger CCD and associated circuitry add costs to a video camera that may make the camera cost prohibitive for some users.
One shortcoming of known previously developed video stabilization techniques is that stabilization must be provided during recording. A need exists of techniques or systems that can stabilize a video recording after it has been made.